The relationship between psychosocial developmental and the sports climate experienced by underserved youth

Objectives

This study was designed to assess developmental outcomes underserved youth report from their sports participation; identify perceptions of the sports climate their coaches create; and, measure the relationships between participants reported gains and perceptions of the psychosocial sports climate.

Method

Participants were 239 urban youth sports participants from an underserved community who completed the Youth Experiences Scale (YES-2), Sport Motivational Climate Scale, Caring Climate Scale and measures of the importance their coaches placed on life skills.

Results

Multivariate analyses revealed a number of significant relationships between YES-2 outcomes and motivation and caring climate predictor variables, which clearly show that the more coaches create caring, mastery-oriented environments, the more likely positive developmental gains result.

Conclusion

These findings are consistent with the previous motivational (Smith, Smoll, & Cumming, 2007) and caring climate (Fry & Gano-Overway, 2010) research and shows that coaching actions and climates have an important influence on personal and social development of young people.     

A dancer's well-being: The influence of the social psychological climate during adolescence

ObjectivesResearch suggests promoting task-involving dance climates is beneficial to well-being (Quested & Duda, 2009, 2010). Likewise, caring climates are integral to optimizing well-being (Fry et al., 2012). However, perceptions of a caring climate have not been examined in dance studios and little is known about the relationship between perceptions of a broader climate and aspects of psychological well-being. This study examined the relationship between perceptions of the social psychological climate (task-involving, ego-involving, and caring) and aspects of psychological well-being (positive and negative affect, body-esteem, and teacher and peer friendship quality) in adolescent dancers.DesignCross-sectional correlational design.MethodEighty-three female dancers (M age = 16.28 ± .93) self-reported well-being and perceptions of their studio's dance climate.ResultsPerceptions of task-involving and caring climates were related to better positive affect, body-esteem, and relationships with teachers and peers (r range: .33–.68). Two climate cluster profiles emerged: a Positive Climate (n = 57) with lower ego-involving and greater task-involving and caring climate perceptions and a Mixed Climate (n = 26) with higher ego-involving and lesser task-involving and caring climate perceptions. MANOVA revealed significant differences (V = 0.266, F (6, 76) = 4.59, p < .001) between the profiles on well-being. Discriminant function analysis showed dancers in the Positive Climate cluster reported greater body esteem, more friends, and less negative affect than dancers in the Mixed Climate cluster.ConclusionsPromoting a task-involving and caring climate and de-emphasizing an ego-involving climate is an effective strategy for promoting well-being in dancers.     

Caring: A Pluralist Account

In this paper, I argue that care ethics should be understood as a form of value pluralism. Writers on the ethics of care tend not explicitly to address issues in the theory of value, although much of what has been written about care ethics may be taken to suggest that it endorses some form of value monism. I argue against this conception of care ethics by showing that the practical reality of caregiving is more accurately represented by a pluralist account of value. Practices of care are plausibly guided by a number of distinct and potentially conflicting values. These include quality of life, autonomy, dignity, personal development, and the value of nurturant relationships. Whilst caring takes each of these values to be important in its own right, they are not always jointly realisable, and carers are sometimes forced to promote one such value at the expense of another. The possibility of conflict between values is, of course, precisely what a pluralist conception of value tells us to expect. In this respect, then, value pluralism more faithfully reflects the reality of caregiving than does value monism, and care ethicists ought for this reason to endorse it.     

Connecting Life-Course Challenges of Caring with the College Curriculum

Five challenges of caring across the life course are described: to be cared for, to care for ourselves, to care for others, to care together with others, and to care for others from whom we differ. Suggestions are provided for how the college and university curriculum and associated experiences can be constructed and presented to best prepare our students to recognize, accept, and meet these five challenges of caring during their own adult development and aging.     

Connections between caring climate,self-compassion,self-pity,and reactions to an emotionally difficult sport situation

Multiple variables influence athletes’ ability to cope with the challenges of sport participation including self-compassion, self-pity, and emotional regulation. Yet, the role of coach and teammates in nurturing self-compassion (SC), reducing self-pity (SP), and helping to regulate emotions (RESE) has not been fully investigated. Therefore, this study explored the interrelationships between perceptions of the caring climate (CC), SC, SP, RESE, and reactions to an emotionally difficult sport scenario (REs) and specific ways coaches and teammates helped or hindered SC. 224 predominately White (79%), female (69%), male (30%), and non-binary (1%) undergraduate students (M_age = 18.44, SD = 0.66) involved in a high school sport the previous year, participated in an online survey. The survey included measures of CC, SC, SP, RESE, and REs along with four open-ended questions asking participants to reflect on how coaches and teammates helped or hindered development of SC. Correlations revealed CC was positively related to RESE and SC and negatively related to SP. Further, CC was positively associated with constructive REs and negatively associated with deconstructive REs. To test whether RESE, SC, and SP mediated the relationship between the CC and REs, a path analysis was conducted. A partially mediated model emerged, ꭓ²(11) = 22.10, p = .02, CFI = 0.99, TLI = 0.93, RMSEA = 0.07 (CI = 0.02–0.11), SRMR = 0.04, with CC positively predicting positive and negative RESE, positive RESE positively predicting SC, and negative RESE positively predicting SC and negatively predicting SP. Additionally, SC, SP, and RESE differentially predicted REs. Thematic analysis of the open-ended questions revealed higher order themes of emotional, esteem, informational, and conditional support with a variety of supports being used by coaches and teammates. These findings provide insight into how coaches may be able to support athletes’ SC and RESE to navigate challenges within sport.     

Relational Spending in Funerals: Caring for Others Loved and Lost

Funeral rituals perform important social functions for families and communities, but little is known about the motives of people planning funerals. Using mixed methods, we examine funeral planning as end-of-life relational spending. We identify how relational motives drive and manifest in funeral planning, even when the primary recipient of goods and services is dead. Qualitative interviews with consumers who had planned pre-COVID funerals (N = 15) reveal a caring orientation drives funeral decision-making for loved ones and for self-planned funerals. Caring practices manifest in three forms: (a) balancing preferences between the planner, deceased, and surviving family; (b) making personal sacrifices; and (c) spending amount (Study 1). Archival funeral contract data (N = 385) reveal supporting quantitative evidence of caring-driven funeral spending. Planners spend more on funerals for others and underspend on their own funerals (Study 2). Preregistered experiments (N = 1,906) addressing selection bias replicate these results and find generalization across different funding sources (planner-funded, other-funded, and insurance; Studies 3A–3C). The findings elucidate a ubiquitous, emotional, and financially consequential decision process at the end of life.     

Critical Approaches to Education in the Work of Lorenzo Milani and Paulo Freire

Paulo Freire and Lorenzo Milani are considered as key figures in a number of Southern European countries for providing signposts for a critical approach to education. In this paper I will view their ideas and biographical trajectories comparatively to glean some important insights for a critical pedagogy. The common theme throughout this comparative analysis is that of education for social justice based on critical literacy. The paper also deals with such themes as the relationship between education and politics, the relationship between education and life, the collective dimension of learning and the ability to read as well as write the word and the world.

The cost of caring–the impact of secondary trauma on assumptions,values and beliefs

The aim of this paper is to look at the impact of working with distressed and traumatized clients. The paper describes a survey involving 430 care workers who regularly work with distressed or traumatized clients. The survey involved the participants completing a 21-item beliefs inventory describing their supervision or support and recording whether they had any spiritual or religious beliefs. A factor analysis of the results of the inventory found four factors, three of which involved the negative impact of the work on beliefs while the fourth gave an indication of the positive beliefs or post trauma growth that comes from working in this area. The results showed that while doing a good job and experiencing fulfilment were higher in carers who experienced lower levels of distressing experiences and beliefs, an increase in competence and improved learning opportunities were associated with higher levels of challenge. A review of the information provided on supervision and support showed that there was a wide variation in the sources of support for the different professions. While around 46% of the carers had spiritual beliefs only 29% were members of a religious group. The discussion looked at the implication of the results of the survey including the possible benefit of using the carer belief inventory to identify carers who may be vulnerable to secondary trauma or compassion fatigue. The need to provide support to all professions undertaking caring work with distressed or traumatized clients was highlighted.     

Teaching,caring, and altruistic behaviors in toddlers

Peer-directed behaviors of toddlers were longitudinally recorded in a naturalistic preschool setting. An observer (O, the first author) recorded children's behaviors during play sessions with an IC recorder. One-year-old children (N = 13) and children under the age of 12 months (N = 8) were observed for 15 min, 6 times in a year. Their teaching, caring, and altruistic behaviors were analyzed in detail. Results indicated that peer-directed behaviors of one-year-olds increased dramatically. It is concluded that toddlers are sophisticated social being.     

The structure and developmental course of Positive Youth Development (PYD) in early adolescence: Implications for theory and practice

Using data from Grades 5 to 7 of the longitudinal 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development (PYD), this research assessed the structure and development of PYD. Building on Grade 5 findings, that “Five Cs” (Competence, Confidence, Connection, Character, and Caring) could be empirically defined as latent constructs converging on a second-order construct, labeled PYD, we used structural models to assess the fit of this original model for Grades 5, 6, and 7. Results indicated that PYD continued to be a robust construct that can be defined comparably for Grades 6 and 7, as it was in Grade 5. We discuss implications for future research and for applications of the finding that, across the three years of early adolescence that we assessed (about ages 10 to 12), there is continuity in the structure of PYD.